Dominant Alcaraz marches into Barcelona final again

Carlos Alcaraz has extended his winning run at the ATP Barcelona Open to 14 matches with a comfortable semi-final victory over Arthur Fils.

Alcaraz had to come from a set down to defeat the young Frenchman on his way to the title in Monte Carlo last week but Saturday's victory was a more straightforward outing for the world No.2 as he eased to a 6-2 6-4 victory.

The Spaniard, who saw off Australian fifth seed Alex de Minaur in Friday's quarters, lifted the trophy in Catalonia in 2022 and 2023 before missing last year's tournament through injury.

Alcaraz remains some distance behind Jannik Sinner in the battle for the world No.1 ranking but has at least closed the gap over the last couple of weeks.

"Since I was a little kid, I was here on Sundays watching the final," said Alcaraz.

"I played twice here so being in a final here in Barcelona again means a lot. In front of my people, my friends who came from Murcia, and of course the people here in Barcelona.

"It's been a really fun and great week, and let's see if we can end tomorrow with a trophy."

In the final the top seed, who has now reached his third tour-level final of the season after Rotterdam and Monte Carlo, will take on sixth seed Holger Rune in Barcelona, who continued his strong week with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Karen Khachanov.

In the quarter-finals, Rune eliminated defending champion Casper Ruud and Saturday's win means he advances to his second final at ATP 500 level.

Alcaraz holds a 2-1 record against the 13th-ranked Rune. The pair of 21-year-olds have yet to meet on clay but Alcaraz won their last meeting at 2023 Wimbledon.